Sweeping compound



purpose.

Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

UNITED STATES we; I

GENEVIEVE L. s ooY, 0E 'oHAR'LEs rey, iowA.

' sWE rING No Drawing.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a compound for use in sweeping floors. More particularly, it is my purpose to provide such a compound having ingredients, which can be'secured, prepared and compounded at a minimum of expense for materials and labor.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a compound comprising in gredients of such character and combined in" such proportions as toproduce', a compound having maximum efficiency fonth'e Various used on floors, Wooden, linoleum, varnished concrete.. p p p The qualities desirable in a good sweeping compound are that the compound shall gather and take up the dust and leave no undesirable residue.

My compound effects another desirable result in that it gives to the floor a certain degree of polish not secured with compounds heretofore used. V

In the compounds with which I am familiar, there is a considerable content of'fine sawdust. This has a disadvantage in that it gets into the cracks in wood floors and some tile floors and is hard to get out.

' My compound comprises finely divided or ground cotton fabric, finely divided or ground rubber, preferably with a sulphur content chemically combined or added in a free state, oil, and fine sand, preferably silica sand. p y The cotton orfinelydivided cloth fabric kinds of sweeping compounds are tile "and and the rubber may, of course, be secured in difl'erent'ways, but I preferably use old automobile tires, which are finely groundv up. I have discovered that these tires have about the proper cotton fabric and rubber content for making a satisfactory sweeping compound. It would. of course, be possible to secure the finely divided fabric and rubber from other sources, but I prefer to use the old or used tires, commonly called casings, because of the low price atwhich they can be secured.

The oil used is preferably paraffin oil, preferably the class commercially sold as No. 1, the specifications of which are substantially as follows: gravity (Baum scale) 24 to 30, fire point, 365 to 37 5, Fahrenheit, viscosity at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, to 80, cold test 20 to 25 Fahrenheit,

Application filed February ooivrronivn." 1 1, 1925. Serial No. 3,535.

The sand employed ispreferably'a silicasand of a fineness to pass through 'a of 28 mesh tothe inch. 1 p In compounding the ingredients, I preferably use two bushels by bulk of the product of the tiresfi-nely ground to one bushel of the sand, four and onefourth gallons of paraffin oil, 5 andthree and three fourths pounds ofcoloringmatter.-- The coloring matter is usedi'n orderto'- give to the produc auniformandpleasingcolor. In the mixing of theingredients', thecot-i ton and rubber product. and th'e' 'sand'are screen preferably thoroughly mixedfir t. The coloring'may beput into the oiljand the colorthe-o'theringredients.

- in randthe'oil then thoroughly mixed with The finished product is packed any i I able containers. It has one advantage inthat it may be packed, stored and shipped in sacks.

In the practical use of this sweeping compound, the desired amount of the compound I is sprinkled over the floor to be swept and the floor may then be swept with brooms in the ordinary way.

. The peculiar ingredients of the compound are such that it gives the desired effect of a sweeping compound to a maximum de ree. A I

The finely divided cotton or fabric collects and holds the dust, so that practicallyno dust is raised by the sweeping operation. The. oil,'of course, contributes to this desirable function.

The sand is an abrasive and helps in clean- 'ing the floor, and it is also found that it leaves a very fine, almost invisible residue, which is considered desirable.

The rubber serves as a polisher during the sweeping and also deposits a fine residue,

which has a polishing effect on the floors used for walking on or the like.

In-this connection, I desire to say that I I consider the rubber one of the important ingredients in this compound. Bufi'ed rubber is an excellent article to use 'on dancing floors.

I In this connection, it should perhaps be mentioned that the bulk of this .compound is much greater compared to its weight than the bulk of ordinary sweeping compounds heretofore used. This is a feature of some importance becauseit involves the fact that ion from the floor and it takes up and retains the dust with considerably more effectiveness on account of this quality.

Another important beneficial result arising from the bulkiness of this product may be mentioned. \Vood body sweeping compound, if left in any substantial amount collected at one place on the floor, deposits oil on the floor and thus leaves grease spots, whereas my more bulky and fluffy compound will not have this undesirable result.

The fact that no oil is deposited on the floor in any undesirable degree by my compound is probably also partly due to the fact that the cotton absorbs and retains the oil better than a Wood content. A

The sand has the same effect as in other compounds having the same, and the rubber performs a function not performed in any other sweeping compound, with which I am familiar, both in its polishing effect during the sweeping operation and in the almost invisible residue, which it leaves from the sweeping operation.

I have therefore produced a sweeping compound, which is more effective in accomplishing its purpose, due to the nature and qualities and proportions of the ingredientv employed, and which has the polishing effect not secured with other sweeping compounds.

My compound can also be made at a relative low cost, because of the availability of large quantities of used automobile casings.

The relative proportions of the ingredients of this compound may be varied to some degree without losing'the beneficial results and effects of the compound and it is my intention to cover by the claims of my patent, any such modifications in the elements or in the proportions thereof as may be reasonably included Within the scope of my 7 invention.

1 claim as my lnventionz l. A sweeping compound consisting of finely divided old automobile tire casings,

sand and paraffin oil. 7

I 2. A sweeping compound consisting of finely divided old automobile tire casings, sand and paraffin oil in substantially the proportionsby bulk of two bushels, one bushel and four anda quarter gallonsrespectively. V

GENEVIEVE L. SECOY. 

